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General: Dead or Alive 3 was the premier fighting game for the Xbox... Overall, the gameplay engine is very much like DOA2, with only a few small enhancements here and there. Several new characters join the cast, fighting on some of the best looking interactive environments ever seen in a 3D fighting game. The environmental interaction is even more impressive than before, with the ability to knock your opponent off of some very high places, probably the biggest draw of the DOA series now.
DOA3 was definitely one of the best looking fighters around for the time, and even though the gameplay is simply and straight forward, it still leaves much to be desired. A casual fighting game player might think this game is at the top of it's class, because it sure looks it, but we'll get to that later... Although the 1 player mode is satisfying, where the problem lies is in player vs player competition. Who wants to play a fighting game where nearly every move can be easily countered with ONE button. It takes "some" skill to counter, but primarily only timing with your opponents move... It doesn't even matter whether it's a punch or a kick. In contrast, Tekken 5's character specific and punch/kick specific counter system is much more intricate, more balanced for gameplay, and also more fun.
The new characters have interesting fighting styles, and were much needed for the series in my opinion. The story mode is a bit better than in DOA2, but that's not really saying much because there's still not much of a story at all, just random cutscenes. Where the game truly shines is it's graphics. Characters are very detailed from head to toe, and the stages are amazing! There's a ton of places and things to "knock" your opponent into. And on that note, the way your opponent smashes into a tree or through a wall looks incredibly painful. The "falling animations" in this game may be where it excels over Tekken 5, although the general punches and kicks from Tekken's characters actually look much more damaging than that of DOA's characters. Some punches and kicks in DOA just don't have that "omph," even though the opposing character goes flying backwards.
Manufacturer: Tecmo
Platforms: Xbox
Release: 2002
Characters:
Ein,
Leon,
Lei
Fang, Tina,
Bass,
Kasumi,
Zack,
Ayane,
Hayabusa,
Helena,
Gen
Fu, Jann Lee, Bayman,
Christie,
Brad
Wong, Hitomi
Related Games:
Dead
or Alive, Dead or Alive 2, Dead
or Alive 2: Hardcore, Dead or Alive 4
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Closing Comment: Another very pretty 3D fighter... But as far as gameplay, and characters, I still prefer Tekken 5. The DOA series at it's heart seems to focus more on hot bouncy girls than fighting or martial arts, but it's their spin on things, which is still cool and unique in the fighting game world... Just a little shallow.~F.Yagami, Webmaster of TFG
